The present invention relates to transport devices and, more particularly, to transport devices of the type which are movable over the ground and to which push or pull bars and wheels can be fastened.
In many cases it is necessary to transport relatively heavy objects, for example travel articles, over long distances, which is fatiguing due to the heavy weight of such articles.
For this reason, it is already known to provide valises with casters and a pull bar so that the user can move these valises by pulling them or pushing them. Another disadvantage of such transport devices is that, regardless of whether they are full or empty, they take up a relatively large amount of space.
In the performing of many types of sports, it is also necessary to transport heavy and bulky athletic equipment over long distances. In order to facilitate the transporting of this athletic equipment, various transport devices have been developed which, in most cases, are designed specifically for a given sport.
Thus, for instance, transport devices are known for the transporting of skis (Federal Republic of Germany OS 34 39 278) which consist of a support member into which the ends of the skis, laid flat against each other, are clamped. The support member has skids on one side and casters on the opposite side so that the ends of the skis can slide or roll on smooth ground.
A transport device for ski equipment is also known (U.S. Pat. No. 4 358 137) in which the transport container is formed of a carriage which is provided with two wheels and to the lower end of which there is fastened a transport bag which can be rolled together and closed along one lengthwise side by a slide fastener. Carrying loops are provided on the transport guide, making it possible for the user to pull or push the carriage. The carriage furthermore has an insertion opening for the lower ends of the skis into which the skis can be loosely inserted and surrounded as a whole by the transport bag, within which ski boots and possibly ski poles can also be arranged. The manufacture of this known transport device is relatively expensive and furthermore the moving of this known transport device over the ground is relatively difficult since the holding grips which are fastened to the transport bag are not rigidly connected to the carriage. Furthermore, the moving of this transport device over soft snow is not possible since, in such case, the wheels sink in and impede movement.
A transport device is also known for golf clubs (Federal Republic of Germany OS 25 28 968) in which a pull or push bar is surrounded by annular holding elements for the golf clubs and which has movable wheels on its lower end for the rolling of the transport device. Although this transport device is collapsible after removal of the wheels and a part of the pull bar, it takes up considerable space when not in use, which is all the more disadvantageous since this transport device, in the same way as all of the transport devices described above, can be used only for one specific sport and thus several transport devices are required when various different sports are played.